Careful examination of the text, however, suggests that James does not actually love Miss Moran. First of all, James enjoys Miss Moran's company because she discusses issues that fascinate him such as the "baseball game,"" and the "woman suffrage meeting- she attended( 69 ). Secondly, he admits that he is a "lonely man- due to a lack of "companionship- with Minnie( 70 ). From these facts, one could argue James doesn't love Miss Moran, but rather the "companionship- that she provides him. This increases the reader's dislike of James by further showing his self centered nature. Miss Moran symbolically emasculates James by rejecting his lame passes and pushing him to the floor when he doesn't get out of her way. To further emasculate James, Miss Moran sarcastically tells Minnie, "wasn't it[his fall] stupid of him-( 71 ). In the second scene, Minnie emasculates James by verbally berating him after he accuses her of falling in love with "the oily little Chink[Liu]-( 76 ). In a powerful assertion of her hatred for James, Minnie cries, "For all your[James] six feet of grossness, your small soul cannot measure up to his[Liu] great one-(76-7). This statement destroys James' male presence by asserting the worthlessness of his physical size, a characteristic of traditional manliness. Minnie dismisses James' masculinity based on his "small soul,"" implying that real men' possess traits which James lacks as evident by his inability to "protect and care- for Minnie or their child(77). In the end, James leaves without argument or protest, symbolizing Minnie's successful destruction of his manhood. .
Unlike James Carson, Liu Kanghi embodies the traditional qualities of masculinity. Liu's manhood becomes apparent when he symbolically protects Minnie from danger during their first encounter, warning, "If you go any further, lady, you will fall into the water!-(71) Minnie ignores his warnings, so with a "strong arm,"" Liu saves her from the potential danger.
